


The Recent Dead

by dogmatix, norcumi



Series: A Supplemental Star to Steer By [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Foreshadowing, GFY, Gen, Goa'uld Jedi, Reminiscing, bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4442018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dogmatix/pseuds/dogmatix, https://archiveofourown.org/users/norcumi/pseuds/norcumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Separatist Uprising is almost over. All that's left is taking down the last Sep general, then the Republic - and the Jedi - are in the clear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Recent Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place shortly before A Star to Steer By begins.

Obi-Wan stood in the archives, looking down the row of great Masters past. It evoked nostalgia and pain in equal measure.

As always, he tried to meet the emotions, even knowing there was no conquering them. He walked down the aisles, stopping at the bronze bust of a human woman.

Noorian, really, but close enough, and the differences were difficult to depict in bronze.

Tahl had been a striking woman, with strong features and a stubborn cast that the artist had managed to capture accurately. Obi-Wan studied her face for a bit, then walked around to the other side of the bust. There, framed by Tahl’s silhouette, was a depiction of Qui-Gon. More than just a representation that tried to show the shape of his fins, it was the plaque that the Jedi rested on, detailing the feats he and Tahl had achieved, describing their accomplishments and marking their place in the history of the Order.

Obi-Wan allowed himself a moment to trail his fingers across the etched letters, tracing the familiar pattern. Sith in the creche. Valiant defense.

Cut down saving lives.

# _Stop moping,_ # 17 grumbled.

# _You miss them too, some days_.#

# _Doesn’t mean I end up mooning over their memorial_.#

# _Just chanting their names every few days?_ #

# _Don’t mock the culture your kind encourage_.#

# _I’ll remember that the next time you get a craving for_ _uj cake._ #

17 was snickering, unimpressed with Obi-Wan’s attempt to tease, though a quiet compassion lingered underneath the clone's usual facade of indifference.

A brush of presence in the Force brought their head up, and 17 let slip a sigh of relief. “Finally,” he muttered, trotting over towards the high-arched doorway. Anakin and Fives stood there, head tilted in quiet inquiry.

Obi-Wan raised a hand to them in acknowledgement, then let his fingers slip across a different plaque. It was near the door – a place out of the way and for more recent additions that had not yet achieved a settled location.

Dooku, and the Count of Serenno. Like all the other statues, it was life-sized, no larger.  Fitting, for a Jedi and host who had never sought acclaim or pomp, in spite of the Count of Serenno’s heredity position. # _We shall not see their like again any time soon,_ # Obi-Wan sighed, as his hand moved from the lengthy list of his grand-master’s accomplishments.

# _Thankfully,_ # 17 groused right back, a wash of exasperated affection moderating the sneer the clone always had for Dooku and his host. Obi-Wan supposed the man had a clear and obvious right to that, but they had agreed to disagree on the matter.

Fives nodded to them as they arrived, then Anakin raised a brow. “So what’s the mission? Must be big if the Council’s revving the engines like this.”

Obi-Wan shook off his melancholy and let a feral smile free. “Indeed.” He grinned at Anakin’s eyeroll and impatience roiling through the Force, but neither would make him hurry his explanation. His former padawan had to wait until they were on the shuttle.  Cody had insisted on having it ready and waiting, to make sure they could get to the airfield and the Resolute as swiftly as possible.

General Kenobi looked around the collected command staff in the shuttle as Spark pushed the vehicle to its limits, Coruscant speed limits be damned.

Anakin, the fingers of his bionic arm tapping impatiently along his blue and white armor. Fives, a patient but eager presence watching underneath. Ahsoka and Echo, their presences comfortably mixed and identity a bit difficult to separate out until one or the other spoke. Cody and Rex, commanders of his and Anakin’s forces. He let himself linger just a moment on pride for what he firmly believed to be the cream of the Republic forces, even including the Council and their top officers.

Switching affection for professionalism, Obi-Wan presented a holo to them, displaying their quarry. Anakin hissed a soft noise of satisfaction, and it was Echo who nodded agreement.

“We found Trench,” Obi-Wan declared, giving the holo of the arachnid Harch a slight heft. “He’s got a small fleet running for cover near the Outer Rim. Reports have several small fighter groups in the area, so we’re going to split up. Each of us, leading a mixed set of squads for space or boarding battle.”

17 grinned at Cody. “I’ve got dibs on Waxer’s squad, you got him the last three sorties.”

Cody rolled his eyes, utterly unimpressed with 17’s posturing. “Will you just promote the bastard and get on with it?”

Obi-Wan's host snorted. “He’s turned me down the last few times. You want to stop wrangling over him, _you_ get him to accept the new pips.”

Anakin was ignoring them with long practice. “Ahsoka and I will take the fighter squadrons and flush him towards you. You guys just be ready to squash him the moment he pokes his head out.”

Ahsoka grinned back at him. “Shouldn’t take too long. Then there’s the last Seppie General down. _Finally_.”

A soft hum to Obi-Wan's side drew a curious glance, and Rex shook his head. “Still a hell of a lot of clean up, Commander. War might be officially over, but we’ve still got a lot of mess to set straight.”

Echo smiled and tilted his head a little. “Guaranteed employment. What’s to complain about?” Fives snickered and lightly smacked his brother on the shoulder, but Obi-Wan ignored the banter and roughhousing between them.

Rex crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, nudging Cody’s shoulder for their own moment of reassuring contact. “Still, eight years from one side of the war to the other,” Rex murmured. “Lotta lives, lotta time.”

“Just be glad we _have_ been here,” Cody sighed back, voice just as low.

Rex hummed agreement, and Obi-Wan reached around Cody to settle a hand on Rex’s shoulder. It was dual purpose: there were never enough opportunities to convince his prickly Commander that a bit of physical contact was good for him, and Rex could do with the reassurance. They both looked at him, and he smiled. “We’ll see this through. _Then_ the war’s over, and not just on paper.”

“Looking forward to it, sir,” Rex declared. Cody gave a jerky nod of agreement, though Obi-Wan could tell his Commander was reaching the limits of his endurance for affectionate demonstrations.

17 pulled the arm back and gave the others a feral grin. “Let’s go and kick some Seppie ass. I wanna get home and spend a few years sticking to a targeting range that _won’t_ shoot back at me.”

# _Liar,_ # Obi-Wan sent affectionately to his host.

17 snorted. # _Like you’d ever live a quiet life._ #

# _You wouldn’t want it any other way._ #

# _Wouldn’t host you if you didn’t keep things exciting._ #

Obi-Wan sent him the impression of a grin, letting the clone discuss logistics with Anakin and Fives. # _Of course._ # He kept a shiver of unease to himself, not sure if it was lingering melancholy over the dead, or an actual bad feeling from the Force. Much as he sometimes appreciated the warnings he got from the Force, his premonitions were never very useful for larger, longer term causes. What would happen would happen, and they’d all keep each other safe.

They’d made it through eight years of war. One more mission, heading out towards the Rim. They’d get through this just fine too.

 


End file.
